Getting Settled!

We're certainly enjoying the perfect weather here in Casa Grande...low 90s in the daytime and mid-60's at night (good sleeping with the windows open!)  The various chores on our list are slowly getting checked off, but there are still lots of things to do before we're truly ready to "play" for the winter.  We stopped by to see some tennis buddies today and they tell us we're expected at the courts at 7am daily, so perhaps we'll get in some tennis early in the day and work on some chores a bit later.  We did go to Phoenix today for Tom's routine check-up at the neurologist and all was well...so good, in fact, that he doesn't need to return for 6 months.  While in the city, we also stopped at "Golfsmith," allowing Tom some time to try out various new golf drivers.  He found one that looks promising, but we're going to do a little more shopping before he makes his decision.   Do you think he needs a new one????

We also checked in at the front office here at Palm Creek, paid our annual rent, had our new photo-IDs made and picked up our accumulated mail.  So I guess we're "legal" for the time-being.

Home, Sweet Home!

Today’s first chore was to make phone calls about replacing our now shattered heat pump cover.  The people in the office at the RV park gave us a name to call and it was the same one we had found on the internet.  The man who answered the call said his shop is closed on Saturday but he’d be willing to help if he could.  He did not have the part we needed in stock, but said he didn’t feel there would be any problem with us driving 200 miles to Tucson unless it was raining.  So, we were on the road in short order.   We arrived at the Camping World in Tucson around noon Arizona time.  Our friends Art and June Nelson were waiting for us as we had plans to visit over lunch.  Art had also made some phone calls to Camping World and the Lazy Days RV Dealership and had information for us.  Camping World had a cover in stock and Tom and Art took it up on the roof to make certain that it would fit our model.  It did!  They tightened the screws and we were protected once again.  Tom will need to remove the cover again to clean the heat pump area and to install the insulation and perhaps paint the cover.  There were no cracks visible on the second heat pump and Camping World only had one cover anyway, so the second one was not replaced.  We had a great visit with Art and June over lunch in the restaurant on the Lazy Days property behind Camping World and hope to see them again soon.              From Tucson we continued on I-10 to Eloy, Arizona where we visited the Flying J and topped off our fuel and propane tanks – ready for the winter stay.  We arrived at Palm Creek around 4:30 and got all parked in our usual site with the help of our neighbor and Chief Ranger, Bob.  Once we were hooked up we enjoyed a visit with our neighbors Harry and Marilou and their son Mike.  It’s good to be “home.”

Back on the road

Cummins South Plains in Odessa, Texas went right to work on our RV first thing this morning.  They discovered that in order to install our new part they would have to remove the muffler from the coach.  After the new part and the muffler were installed, they took the coach for a test drive and declared it repaired.  Around 10:30 they presented us with the bill for the part and about 5 hours of labor plus taxes and fees….close to $900.    We paid the bill and hooked up the Escape and got organized for travel.  We hit the road around 11:30 and drove back to Pecos where we topped off the fuel at Flying J and continued west.  By making minimal stops to change off drivers, we made good time and arrived at the Dreamcatcher RV Park in Deming, NM around 5:30 local time.  (We’d changed time zones near Van Horn, TX)  From Las Cruces, NM to Deming we were driving in very strong winds and we kept an eye on the large awning which we had secured with extra straps.  As we pulled into Dreamcatcher we heard a loud banging and thumping and thought the awning had indeed come loose.  But, no, the large plastic cover on the rear heat pump had come off, crashed around on the roof and part of it onto the ground, in lots of pieces.  Nine years in the sun obviously is not good for plastic!  We picked up the pieces and got registered and parked before Tom climbed to the roof to get the rest of the pieces.  The wine came out shortly thereafter!!!  Tomorrow will be another day…and we had already planned to stop at Camping World in Tucson to meet friends for lunch

Definitely, NOT our best.day.ever!

We had arrived at the TraPark RV Park in Pecos, Texas Wednesday afternoon around 4:00.  We settled into a site and had a relaxing evening.  It had been a pleasant day’s drive from Abilene and we had two more ahead of us to get to Palm Creek in Casa Grande, AZ.  Thursday morning we went through our usual departure routine and were ready to head to our next stop in Deming, NM.  When we turned on the engine a loud, constant alarm sounded and the “check engine” light came on in the dashboard display.  We made several phone calls to Spartan Chassis and Cummins Engine service centers.  They had several suggestions, which we followed, to check the coolant and the engine oil levels.  The coolant was at the proper level, but the oil was a little low.  So, we unhooked the car and made a trip to Walmart to purchase oil which was then added to the engine.  After the 15 minute run-time we still had the alarm and the lovely light on the dash.  At that point Cummins said we should not drive the coach. 

Calling “road service” was our next step and it was an hour and a half before they returned our call to say they had found us a tow truck that would be arriving momentarily.  Sure enough, in about 15 minutes a truck arrived.  The drivers took one look at our rig and said they could not tow us!  They would damage the generator and exhaust if they did.  Luckily, they had a flat-bed truck available and made a trip to their garage to trade trucks.  Another plus was that they were from Pecos, not a far away place!  So, they directed Tom to drive the Dutch Star up onto the trailer which they could tilt by moving the wheels forward…pretty neat!  Then we were off on a 75 mile drive to the Cummins service facility in Odessa, TX.  As we followed the truck in our car, we cringed every time we came to an overpass on the freeway.  Our rig is 12’3” high and it was sitting on a flat bed that looked to us to be 3 or 4 ft. off the ground.  Tom had discussed the height with the driver before we departed Pecos.  The only really “close call” came somewhere along the I-20 route when the driver pulled the truck over to the edge of the road and inched his way under an overpass marked 15’4”…while we held our breath!

When we reached Odessa and the Cummins facility, their driveway had a low hanging utility cable.  Fortunately, the driver noticed it as he was making the left-hand turn into the drive.  He held up traffic on the busy street while he back up and drove in sideways.  Whew!  They got the Dutch Star unloaded and pulled up to a service bay about 4:30.  It was after 6:30 when the service manager was able to tell us they had followed their trouble-shooting procedure and had come up with a defective electrical diode.  They couldn’t find a part number on the diode or their computer program, so had to search through parts books to come up with a number which they used to search their inventory.  Hooray!  They have the part in stock.  It will be installed first thing Friday morning.   Meanwhile, we’re spending the night in front of the service bays with an electrical hookup.  Hopefully we’ll be on our way again late Friday morning.

Considering we are not too far from last year’s vehicle fiasco, maybe next year we should go from Abilene to Casa Grande by way of Denver!